Your PMP Application

Completing your PMP application is often more challenging than expected, particularly when it comes to documenting project experience. Many qualified candidates are delayed or selected for audit not because of a lack of experience, but because their application does not clearly reflect what PMI is looking for. The following guidance will help you accurately document your project experience. It outlines how to structure your project descriptions, what to include (and avoid), and how to ensure your experience aligns with PMI requirements. Review the PMI Certification Handbook for official guidance.

Confirm Your Eligibility to Take the PMP Certification Exam

Before submitting your application to the Project Management Institute (PMI), ensure you meet the following requirements:

• 35 Hours of Project Management Education
  You must complete a minimum of 35 hours of formal project management education before submitting your application. These hours must be documented within the application.

• 24, 36, or 60 Months of Professional Project Experience Leading Projects Within the Last Eight Years (based on education level and program accreditation)
  Based on your education, you must demonstrate the required project experience, measured in months—not the number of projects.

How to Complete Your PMP Application

Keep the following in mind as you complete your application. Selecting the right projects upfront will make the application easier to complete and defend if audited. If selected for audit by the Project Management Institute, you must be able to obtain verification for the project experience included in your application.

• Overlapping projects do not count as additional months. If you worked on multiple projects at the same time, those months only count once.

• Experience must reflect leading and directing projects—not supporting tasks only.

• Plan your entries strategically by prioritizing longer-duration projects to reduce the number of entries needed.

• Focus on more recent projects when possible.

• Ensure your timeline is accurate and defensible.

• List each project individually—do not combine multiple projects into a single entry.

• Use the project title or a clear description of the project’s purpose in the title field—not your role.

• Descriptions should remain concise, typically between 100–500 words, with 150–175 words as a strong target. Include only relevant project management experience and avoid unnecessary detail. Include the following:

  • Project Objective: One sentence describing the project objective. The objective should clearly establish the work as a project rather than ongoing operations. The experience should be a high-level summary of the project as a whole—not a task list—and should focus on your role as the project lead

  • Project Experience: One to two paragraphs summarizing your project experience. emphasize planning (scope, schedule, resources), executing (leading the team, managing work), monitoring and controlling (tracking progress, managing risks and issues, making adjustments), and stakeholder engagement. Avoid including routine, operational, or administrative tasks and responsibilities, and avoid focusing on technical deliverables rather than your project management responsibilities.

  • Project Outcome: One sentence describing the project outcome. The outcome should summarize the result. If the project is complete, state the outcome achieved. If the project is ongoing, reflect current status, such as being on schedule or having approved deliverables.
    

• Focus project descriptions on project management processes, tasks performed, and methodologies applied—not industry-specific details, operational work, or technical deliverables.

• Ensure the work represents a project with a defined start and end, a clear objective, and a unique outcome.

• Include project experience that demonstrates leading and directing work. Academic or volunteer projects may be included if they meet PMI’s definition of a project. Do not include routine, operational, or informal activities.

• Clearly demonstrate that you led and directed cross-functional teams.

• Show responsibility for delivering projects within schedule, budget, and resource constraints.

• Reflect responsibility across the full project lifecycle.

• Demonstrate application of a project management methodology.

• Indicate that work was performed under general supervision.

• Leverage language and task statements from the Exam Content Outline (ECO) to align your experience with PMI expectations.

  NOTE: Your application is valid for one (1) year from the date of approval. If you allow your eligibility to lapse, you must re-apply.

Audits

If you are selected for a random audit, it will typically occur either when you submit the application or the exam fee. If you are randomly selected for an audit, PMI will notify you via email and provide instructions on how to comply with the audit. If your application is selected for audit, you may be asked to provide documentation such as:

• A copy of your degree or education credentials

• Proof of project management training (e.g., course certificates)

• Experience verification forms signed by your reference(s)

Audits are not limited to the application stage. You can be audited at any time, even after you become certified. If PMI identifies concerns, such as non-compliance with the Code of Ethics (including inaccurate or misleading information on your application), they may initiate an audit.

PMP Exam Fees

• Exam Fee:
  $425 (PMI Member) | $675 (Non-Member)

• PMI Membership:
  $164 (New Membership)

Consider becoming a PMI member before paying for your exam. While membership costs $164, you’ll save $86 on the exam fee, making it a cost-effective option right away. In addition to the cost savings, membership provides access to valuable PMI resources and discounted certification renewal fees. If you are not already a member when you begin your application, you will have the option to join PMI during the application process.

Scheduling Your Exam

Once your application is approved and you’ve paid the exam fee, you can schedule your exam. You can take your exam at a Pearson Vue Testing Center (recommended) or securely online. You may attempt the exam up to three times in one year if you don’t pass.